1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sub-frame structure which mounts a fuel cell of a fuel cell vehicle thereon and is supported by a vehicle body.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-185576, filed Jul. 17, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, there has been the following sub-frame structure that has the shape of a lattice in plan view (For example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2007-15588). The sub-frame structure includes front and rear cross members, which support front and rear ends of a fuel cell on upper surfaces thereof and extend in a vehicle width direction, and a pair of side members that connect the front cross member with the rear cross member and extends along side surfaces of the fuel cell.
Meanwhile, in the related art, intermediate pipes, which extend in a left-right direction, are provided between the front and rear cross members and outside the left and right side members. These intermediate pipes are not provided between the left and right side members and do not support a load that is input on the side member from the side. For this reason, there are concerns that the side member having received a side collision load is easily deformed and the side collision load is transmitted to the fuel cell when the side collision of a vehicle occurs. Accordingly, there is a demand for the elimination of these concerns to also improve protection performance of the fuel cell.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sub-frame, which mounts a fuel cell thereon, is supported by a vehicle body, and suppresses the transmission of a side collision load to the fuel cell stack when the side collision of a vehicle occurs.